Networks
Nursing and Midwifery Digital Health Network
Nursing and midwifery informatics has a unique role in ensuring a digitally enabled health system delivers on the promise of better health outcomes for all Australians. Nursing is the largest single profession in the healthcare workforce and provides continuous care to patients during inpatient stays and to consumers within community and primary healthcare settings. The role of nurses and midwives in the digital environment has the potential to not only deliver improvements in efficiency and patient outcomes, but also to facilitate an improved consumer and clinician experience.
Suki Loe, WA Health
About the Nursing and Midwifery Digital Health Network
The Nursing and Midwifery Digital Health Network is the pre-eminent group of nursing and midwifery informaticians in Australia. Membership is open to all registered nurses and registered midwives.
The Network promotes nursing and midwifery informatics priorities such as appropriate language, education and ongoing research. It engenders nursing and midwifery to embrace information and communication technologies, and establishes strong foundations for taking these developments forward.
It also ensures nursing and midwifery has the data and resources to continue to provide evidence-based, quality, cost-effective and outcome-driven care for patients and clients into the future.
White Paper
Learn more about the instrumental role of nurses and midwives in digitally transforming healthcare by downloading the Position Statement.
Leadership
Dr Helen Almond FAIDH
Vice Chair, Tas
Lecturer in Digital Health & Informatics, Swinburne University of Technology
Tasneem Islam CHIA
Digital Content Coordinator, VIC
EMR Perioperative Clinical Application Specialist, Monash Health
Alan Scanlon CHIA
Written Content Coordinator, QLD
Nurse Manager – Clinical Systems Analyst, Princess Alexandra Hospital
Sally Duncan
Committee member, NSW
Chief Nurse and Midwifery Information Officer, Northern Sydney Local Health District
Interested in a career in nursing or midwifery informatics?
Nurses and midwives wanting to increase their knowledge and/or skills in nursing, midwifery, or health informatics have several avenues.
Several universities have postgraduate coursework programs and nurses and midwives are advised to contact local universities to ascertain if they provide relevant programs or courses in both on-campus or distance education mode. The Institute provides a list of Health Informatics degree course and short course providers in Australia and New Zealand.
There are also a variety of user-pay or free MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) that address specific concepts within nursing, midwifery, or health informatics. Entering nursing or midwifery informatics MOOCs into a search engine will produce a list of available courses and their commencement dates. MOOC platforms include Coursera, edX, Udacity, Open Yale, Udemy. Khan Academy, Alison, FutureLearn, and courses address Nursing Informatics, Health Informatics, Digital Health, and eHealth, and Data Analytics.
Nurses and midwives who have experience in nursing, midwifery, or health informatics and want their skills formally recognised may elect to undertake certification via the Certified Health Informatician Australasia (CHIA) program, developed by AIDH.
Editorials & community blogs
If you would like to contribute to our network and have something to say, send us an email.
The Shadow Pandemic: Violence against women during COVID-19
The rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 resulted in lockdowns and stay-at-home mandates in over 90 countries (Majumdar & Wood, 2020). Emerging data from front line health and support services reported that during this period, violence against women had...
The changing role of leaders in digital health: Positioning CNMIO’s for success
For more than 25 years, the informaticist role has been steadily evolving and growing in importance. Healthcare organisations have undergone significant change in recent years, including the need to incorporate an increasing range of technological advances...
Student placement and the use of digital systems
Before digital health, things were much simpler for both the student nurse, and midwife, in relation to learning how to document assessments, medications, observations, and care. Back in the early eighties, when I trained in both areas, we had a very...
Residential aged care and My Health Record: Linkage is mission critical
Residential aged care organisations in Australia have been slow to not only move to digital clinical information systems but embrace the benefits of digitalisation in general. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (Royal Commission) and...
Documentation within electronic records
The implementation of digital records into healthcare settings has led to significant changes in the way patient information is recorded, stored and used. The result of this can have a wide variety of implications for healthcare professionals, predominantly on what...
Impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning on nursing and midwifery
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a relatively new discipline, beginning in the 1950s but gaining much attention in the last decade. Developed by the interpenetration of many disciplines such as mathematical logic, fuzzy mathematics, computer science,...
Long COVID: Opportunities for nurses and midwives to research, innovate and collaborate
Nurses and midwives as frontline healthcare workers are among the most vulnerable groups worldwide since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic. Direct contact with potentially affected patients was an issue, but challenging work environment they faced with...
The impact of the pandemic on justice health nursing and midwifery
With the COVID-19 pandemic now in its third year, we have experienced many variants and witnessed several outbreaks occurring in high density areas. A particular population that has proved challenging during these ‘unprecedented’ times are those...
Health informaticians have a role in contributing to climate justice
Health informatics and its subspecialty nursing informatics play a substantial role in supporting healthcare processes towards achieving optimal patient outcomes and safe patient care. During COVID-19, health informaticians helped oversee a rapid...
The impact of mHealth on nurses and midwives
Most nurses and midwives are familiar with health apps, but possibly not the broader scope and meaning of mobile health or mHealth. Health applications offer health- and wellness-related services for smartphones, tablets, personal computers, and other...
Impact of biotechnology on nurses and midwives
Biotechnology refers to technology based on biology – that is, it exploits biological systems, living organisms or part of this to cultivate or create different products. Traditional processes to bake bread, brew beer, or make cheese are rudimentary...
Nursing and Midwifery Participation in Virtual Care
Whilst it is clear that virtual models of care will be a predominant feature in future health infrastructure, there are varying interpretations of what constitutes virtual care (VC). There is no supported standard definition, and VC is often used...
News & updates
Nursing Informatics Conference 2024 Call for Committee Members
As the Institute embarks on its new strategy to shift the dial on our nation’s transition to a digital health future, we’re asking for the support and involvement of our Fellows and members.
Congratulations to your new Branch leaders
Congratulations to the new AIDH Branch Committees Thank you to everyone who nominated in the recent Branch elections, there was a record number of nominations this year with five of the six Branches going to a member vote. It was a competitive election...
International Medical Informatics Association: Nursing Informatics Special Interest Group
IMIA-NI is the international organisation for health and biomedical informatics. The goal of IMIA-NI is to promote collaboration among nurses and others interested in Nursing Informatics in order to advance the field. The special Interest group seeks to...
Vale Dr Virginia K Saba
Dr Virginia Saba passed away on 20 November. Virginia was an early pioneer in the field of informatics and contributed significantly to the development of the discipline of nursing informatics. Working within the US public health service, her early work focused on...
Congratulations to new community leaders
Thank you to everyone who nominated in the AIDH community elections where branches and community of practice leaders were elected. Congratulations to the successful nominees! The following nominees were voted into branch leadership: Victoria branch:...
AIDH CoP committees call for nominations 2021
The Institute is calling for nominations from eligible members who would like to hold a leadership position within one of our six CoP Committees. Being part of a CoP Committee is a great way to contribute to a community focused on building the digital...
Resources
Nursing Informatics Strategic Paper
A framework for nursing informatics in Australia
International Council of Nurses
Operated by nurses and leading nursing internationally, ICN works to ensure quality nursing care for all and sound health policies globally.
Nursing Informatics Position Statement
The first national statement to affirm the role of nurses in digital healthcare at all levels and in all health settings.
Celebrating the Moya Conrick winners
2019 Leanna Woods Melbourne
2018 Joanne Reid Sydney
2017 Suki Loe Brisbane
2016 Naomi Dobroff Melbourne
2015 Bernice Redley Brisbane
2014 Josephine Stevens Melbourne
2013 Johanna Westbrook Adelaide
2012 Livio Ciacciarelli Sydney
2011 Susan Moller Brisbane
2010 Sharon Downman Melbourne
Nursing.Midwifery Informatics on Digital Health TV
A member-exclusive benefit featuring hundreds of videos.
Forecasting informatics competencies for nurses in the future of connected health
Nursing Informatics
Nursing midwifery leadership and health informatics
Australian nurses experience with nursing informatics
Have an interest in Nursing or Midwifery Informatics?
Are you involved in nursing or midwifery informatics or want to be? Do you have any suggestions, ideas or would like to get involved in this network?
Want to join the Institute?
Do you want to join our community? As a valued member of the Institute, you will have a voice in shaping the future of healthcare.